Arkansas AG Approves Medical Marijuana Proposal

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has approved the wording of a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Arkansas, clearing the way for supporters to try and put the issue on the November ballot.

Rutledge on Wednesday certified the proposed constitutional amendment by Little Rock attorney David Couch to issue licenses for cultivating and dispensing medical marijuana. Her certification means supporters can begin gathering the nearly 85,000 signatures from registered voters that are needed to get the measure on the November ballot.

Couch said the campaign for the proposal planned to bring in paid canvassers to gather signatures and hopes to circulate petitions during the March 1 primary.

This is the second medical marijuana proposal that has been certified. Voters in 2012 narrowly rejected a proposal to legalize medical marijuana.